The invention relates to a record carrier having paths, in which each path has substantially parallel tracks having a length equal to the path width, and the direction of the tracks is transverse to the longitudinal direction of the path.
The invention further relates to a recording device for recording an information track at the location of a scanning spot on the record carrier and displacing means for displacing the record carrier from the scanning spot in a direction of displacement transverse to a longitudinal direction of the information track.
The invention finally relates to a reading device for reading paths of information tracks on a record carrier, reading means for reading an area of the record carrier located at a scanning spot on the record carrier, positioning means for positioning a next information track of the path on the scanning spot, which positioning means comprise displacing means for displacing the record carrier in accordance with a line determined by the diameter of one of the paths.
A record carrier, a recording device and a reading device of said types are known from WO 91/04556.
Above document discloses a record carrier in the form of an optically writable tape. When information is recorded, the surface of the tape is recurrently scanned in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the tape by a modulated laser beam focused at the recording surface via an optical system. The tape is then moved in longitudinal direction relative to the optical system, so that a path in the longitudinal direction of the tape is provided with parallel information tracks. The length of the tracks is only a fraction of the width of the tape. To cover the entire width of the tape, paths containing parallel tracks are realised on the tape. Once the tape has moved a certain distance in longitudinal direction, the recording is stopped, the tape is moved in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction over a distance slightly larger than the length of the tracks, after which the tape is moved back in longitudinal direction and the recording of a next path of parallel tracks is commenced.
In this manner, a plurality of parallel-arranged paths of relatively short information tracks are recorded on the tape.
When the tape is read out, it is moved to and fro in longitudinal direction while one of the paths is read out each time the tape is moved in either direction.
The objection to the known recording and reading procedure is that once an end of one of the paths is reached during reading/recording, the tape is to be moved in a transverse direction before the next path can be read out or recorded. This displacement of the tape in a transverse direction is relatively time-consuming. During this period of time no information can be read out or recorded. This is especially an objection in the case where the information is to be presented or produced as a continuous data stream.